College and Research Libraries


something librarious written to please and 
instruct-has never comprised a large seg-
ment of the literature of the profession. The 
occasional volumes of essays such as W. W. 
Bishop's Backs of Books, that bear periodic 
reading, are quite rare, · yet in the opinion 
of this reviewer Guy Lyle has now produced 
one in a little book with a big rubric, The 
President, the Professor and the College Li-
brary. Every academic librarian will find it 
useful but pleasant reading. 

The book is disarmingly naive in struc-
ture. It contains such varia as a list of 
accredited library schools, a short discourse 
on the "image" of the librarian-written by 
a professor of foreign languages-the ACRL 
Standards for College Libraries, and four 
essays by Mr. Lyle, three of which had been 
read to library conferences during 1961 and 
1962, and one · which was written for the 
occasion. The resulting pot pourri, believe 
it or not, is indexed. There is no apparent 
reason for the book to succeed, yet most 
readers will no doubt agree that it does and 
that much of its charm is actually due to its 
unpretentiousness. 

Lyle's papers are entitled "The College 
Administration and the Library," "Develop-
ing the College Library Book Collection," 
"Use and Misuse of the College Library," 
and-the original one-"Blueprint · for a 
College Library." Hi~ _-lifelong experience in 
academic library administration makes his 
comments ·sage and his counsel prudent. In 
bibliothecal public relations the author is 
no crash-programer; he judiciously advo-
cates good service and the soft-sell. "Do 
well," he seems to urge, "and let people 
know it gently." 

Although addressed primarily to the col-
lege level complex of faculty, administra-
tion, and librarian, the book will be good 
reading as well for those involved in uni-
versity level work. The informed librarian, 
furthermore, will find little· in the volume 
that is new to him, although he may find 
much that he has not previously heard so 
well expressed, as well as some useful ideas 
that he has probably never previously at-
tempted to formulate in his mind. It would 
be a blessip.g, however, if all presidents and 
professors in the land could be got to read 
these essays since they define our basic posi-
tions articulately and well. 

It is appropriate that this little volume is 

neatly manufactured il). attractive format.-
D.K. 

Library Furniture and Equipment: Pro-
ceedings of a Three-Day Institute Con-
ducted at Coral Gables, Florida, June 
14-16, 1962. Sponsored by the Library 
Administration Division, American Li-
brary Association, in Cooperation with 
the University of Miami. Chicago: 
ALA, 1963. 68p. $1.75. 

In the Foreword to the publication, AI 
Trezza, executive secretary of LAD, states 
that ·the Miami Equipment Institute was so 
successful that the decision was made to 
hold separate equipment and buildings insti-
tutes in alternate years. And this is what is 
happening. Certainly the institute, devoted 
solely to furniture and equipment, rather 
than to buildings and equipment, was emi-
nently successful. It was intelligently and 
efficiently planned and executed. There were 
not only expert librarians in attendance, but 
also experts from the furniture and equip-
ment houses. The principal participants were 
not merely eminently qualified; they were 
actu~lly among the world authorities in their 
various fields. When Keyes Metcalf, for ex-
ample, delivers a full treatise on book stack 
selection, there is little more to be said on 
the subject. 

In the section dealing with furniture selec-
tion for the library, Martin Van Buren, Edna 

_ Voigt:, and Edward G. Stromberg bring to 
the discussion a tremendous amount of 
knowledge, experience, and wisdom. 

The panel discussion on specification writ-
ing and bidding procedures for furniture and 
shelving fills a gap in the existing literature 
of the subject, and the librarian faced with 
his own specification writing could probably 
do a good job after careful perusal of this 
section. Hoyt Galvin, Homer Lombard, and 
Hal Syren deserve credit for having brought 
enlightenment and even interest and excite-
ment to an otherwise extremely technical 
and mundane chore. 

William Hawken has two excellent short 
addresses on ( 1) equipment and methods 
of photocopying and (2) equipment and 
methods in the production of full-size copy 
from microtext. These are constantly chang-
ing, and we must have someone like Mr. 

234 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 

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Hawken bring us up-to-date about once 
every twelve to eighteen months. 

Joseph Treyz has a section on equipment 
and methods in catalog card reproduction. 
His paper is a carefully formulated, beauti-
fully organized, and succinct treatment of 
another all-important problem facing li-
brarians today. 

Until relatively recently, the average "gen-
eral" librarian would hardly have deigned 
to be reading such eminently "practical" 
professional material. But at the present 
time, there is no one responsible for library 
administration and operation on however 
high and· philosophical a level who can _con-

scientiously avoid the responsibility of keep-
ing himself informed on how libraries are 
being automated. 

Perhaps because there has been so little 
in print on it, to me the most interesting pa-
per presented was Martin Van Buren's on 
furniture selection for the library. It is par-
ticularly interesting because he introduces 
his expert treatment of the subject by giving 
a historical background which includes not 
only library furniture but, more basically, 
library architecture itself. He manages some-
how to crowd into a very few pages a really 
fine historical running start.-William H. 
Jesse, University of Tennessee. 

Books Briefly Noted 
Almanac of Naval Facts. U. S. Naval Insti-

tute, Annapolis, 1964. 305p. $3.50. 
American Book Publishing Record, 1963 

Annual Index to vol. 4, New York: Bow-
v ker, 1964. 639p. $10. 

A Bibliography of Ship Passenger Lists, 
1538-1825; Being a Guide to Published 
Lists of Early Immigrants to North Amer-
ica. Comp. by Harold Lancour. 3d ed. 
revised by Richard J. Wolfe. New York: 
New York Public Library, 1963. 137p. 
$5. 

Building Library Collections. By Mary Dun-
~ can Carter and John Wallace Bonk. 2d 

ed. New York: Scarecrow Press, 1964. 
vii, 287p. $6. (64-11775). 

Catholic Serials of the Nineteenth Century 
in the United States: A Descriptive Bibli-
ography and Union List. 2 ser. pt. 5 , 
Pennsylvania. By Eugene P. Willging and 

~ Herta Hatzfeld. Washington, D. C.: Cath-
olic University of America Press, Febru-
ary 21, 1964. vii, 183+15pp. $5.25 paper. 

Code Names Dictionary; A Guide to Code 
Names, Slang, Nicknames, Journalese, 
and Similar Terms: Aviation, Rockets 
and Missiles, Military, Aerospace Meteor-

' ology, Atomic Energy, Communications, 
and Others. Ed. by Frederick G. Ruffner, 
Jr. and Robert C. Thomas. Detroit, Mich: 
Gale Research Company, 1963. 555p. 
$15. (63-21847). 

The Conduct of Inquiry, Methodology for 
-/ Behavioral Science. By Abraham Kaplan. 

San Francisco: Chandler Publishing Co., 
1964. xix, 428p. $8. (64-13470). 

MA¥1964 

Current Research and Development in Sci-
entific Documentation No. 11 (NSF-63-5). 
Washington, D.C.: Natiomil Science 
Foundation, 1962. 440p. $4. 

The Development of A Bibliographic Center 
in the West Virginia Region: Current 
Practices and Future Directions. By Mich-
ael M. Reynolds. Morgantown, West Vir-
ginia: West Virginia University Library, 
1963. 22p. 

Good Reading. 19th ed. Committee on Col-
lege Reading, National Council of Teach-
ers of English, ed. by J. Sherwood Weber. 
New York: New American Library, 
1964. 309p. 75c. (33-10540). 

Guide to Scientific and Technical Period-
icals; A Selected and Annotated List of 
Those Publishing in English. By Ralph 
C. Martin and Wayne Jett. Denver, Colo.: 
Alan Swallow, 1963. ix, 170p. $3.75. 

Guide to Sources of English History From 
1603 to 1660 in Early Reports of the 
Royal Commission on Historical Manu-
scripts. New York: Scarecrow Press, 
1964. 258p. $6. (64-11782). 

Index to Plays in Collections; an Author 
and Title Index to Plays Appearing in 
Collections Published between 1900 and 
1962. 4th. ed, rev. and enl. By John Hen-
ry Ottemiller. New York: Scarecrow 
Press, 1964. vii, 370p. $9.50. (64-11776). 

International Union List of Communist Chi-
nese Serials; Scientific, Technical and 
Medical with Selected Social Science 
Titles. Comp. by Bernadette P. N. Shih 
and Richard L. Snyder. Cambridge, 

235